The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees on Friday said it had suspended aid shipments into the Gaza Strip after the ruling Hamas militant group stole a delivery of humanitarian supplies for a second time this week.

A bloody spike in Israel-Hamas fighting put the Israeli city of Ashkelon and its 110,000 residents at the center of an intensifying militant rocket barrage Thursday -- and Israel's defense minister warned he would invade Gaza, if necessary, to halt the attacks.

A bloody spike in Israel-Hamas fighting moved the Israeli city of Ashkelon and its 110,000 residents to the center of intensifying rocket fire Thursday and Israel's defense minister warned that he would not shy away from reoccupying Gaza, if necessary, to halt such attacks.

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets at Israel on Monday, despite a day-old cease-fire that was intended to end five months of violence in the area, Palestinian witnesses and police said. Also Monday, Israeli troops shot and killed a Hamas-linked militant in a West Bank raid.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday called the Israeli blockade of Lebanon a "humiliation," but Israel said it won't end until peacekeepers can prevent Hezbollah from importing new weapons. Annan said the United Nations hoped to double its 2,500-member force in southern Lebanon by Friday.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced an inquiry Monday into the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, hoping to dispel criticism that the army and government bungled the campaign but falling short of demands for an independent probe with the authority to dismiss top officials.